For More Flavorful Hard-Boiled Eggs, Marinate Them In A Popular Hot Drink

I'm an enormous egg fan. An egghead, you could say. Throughout the eternal cycle that is the demonization and glorification of eggs, I've remained a staunch supporter. I love eggs, whether they're cooked in healthy or unhealthy ways. While hard-boiled eggs aren't my diehard favorite, they are a delicious, quick and easy snack, so I like to keep them on hand when I can. My chief complaint is just that they're a bit... boring. Or at least, they can be if you don't know how to cook and serve them with a bit of pizzazz. Marinating your hard-boiled eggs is a great and simple way to pack in a bit more flavor, and you can use tea to do it.

A good tea egg starts with the tea, unsurprisingly. Tea eggs originated in China as a way to preserve food, and Chinese tea culture has a deep and storied history that we don't have time to get into here and now. Just know that the greatest of tea doesn't begin or end at the now-famous Hong Kong milk tea. For these eggs, grab a darker tea like black, oolong, or Taiwanese red. They have a more robust flavor and will leave behind that beautiful staining synonymous with tea eggs. When choosing a loose-leaf tea, go for larger, more uniform leaf sizes with the tips still attached. For tea bags, just grab your favorite brand or ones noted for good, strong flavors.

Tea alone, while important, doesn't provide your eggs with the full complexity they deserve. Head to your pantry (or grocery store) and scoop up some soy sauce, sugar, salt and star anise. Some recipes call for cinnamon sticks and Sichuan peppercorn, or five spice powder if you don't have any of these on hand. Everyone has their own take on tea eggs, so you can mix and match ingredients to find what suits you best. For a general base to start with, you'll need 4-6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1-2 star anise, a small cinnamon stick, 2 teaspoons of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, 2-3 tea bags or 2-3 tablespoons of loose leaf tea, and 2-3 cups of water.

To make the actual tea egg, gather up your ingredients (sans eggs) and boil it all together for about 10 minutes. Set the pot aside and let it cool completely. Discard the tea bags and pour the mixture into a container, where you can place your hard boiled eggs after cracking or completely peeling the shells. Let this marinate for 12 to 24 hours and you're done! These eggs keep for up to 5 days in the fridge and the flavor will deepen and grow saltier over time. Note that you can use this marinate on eggs of any doneness, too, so if you're a soft boiled kind of person, you don't have to feel left out. Go enjoy that tea-infused yolk, however jammy or solid you like it.